


Visions of Viridian

by ofmidnightdreams



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Spoilers, Spoilers for Campaign 2, Spoilers for Episode 102, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25653631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofmidnightdreams/pseuds/ofmidnightdreams
Summary: (Spoilers for Campaign 2, Episode 102)Under a glowing dome, Caleb Widogast watches Caduceus Clay attempt to cast Greater Restoration on Viridian. She runs, and, in a smattering of timelines, the Mighty Nein try to stop her.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Visions of Viridian

Caleb rubs at his arms. The dome encloses the Mighty Nein near the entrance to the path into the volcano of Vokodo, though it does nothing to diminish the sensation of being watched. He reaches up to his neck to close his hand around the amulet.

The loss of it hits him then, only then. When he held it up to Vokodo he thought of getting his friends out of the water that had begun to heat around them, hotter than the bathhouse in Zadash, than the hot tub in the Xhorhaus. He can be seen, now; but he is among people who have seen him for months and yet they stay. The man who has been looking over his shoulder for years is done running. Even so, he feels the absence of the amulet like an albatross hung around his neck.

Perhaps—

His musing is interrupted by Jester’s singing, a ruthlessly optimistic tone. Caleb glances up and sees Caduceus muttering an incantation, sitting next to Viridian who has joined them inside the dome for night, her legs stretched out in front of her, the ankle of her vine leg crossed over her leg of flesh, her brows furrowed as she stares at Jester.

“Today what I’m thankful for  
Is that we got to see  
You do all the really cool stuff with plants.”

Viridian’s head shoots to the side as Caduceus reaches out for her shoulder. She jerks back. The light of a spell fizzles on Caduceus’s hand. Viridian shoots to her feet and jumps, her form shifting and shrinking as she turns once more into the same small brown owl as earlier that day and launches herself out of the dome.

Fjord summons the Star Razor in a flash and three beams of bright green flare into the dark of the forest after her. Two strike: the first Viridian as an owl, the second Viridian as a woman, who plummets towards the forest floor as the Mighty Nein lurch from the dome. She is nearly a hundred feet away from them and vanishes into the darkness.

* * *

For another Caleb, Viridian doesn’t quite get out of the dome before Beau grabs the taloned feet of the owl and slams it into the ground, where it shudders into the half-elf form of Viridian. Yasha and Fjord grab her, pinning her to the dirt. Caduceus crawls over. “Well, that’s, I’m sorry about this,” he says in that slow way of his, as he reaches out for her shoulder once more.

For yet another of Caleb’s selves, spread throughout the possible timelines in the moment as Caduceus reaches for Viridian’s shoulder, Viridian runs first, and behind her the trees and grasses and rocks rise up to strike at the Mighty Nein. Branches whip at them. Rocks hurl themselves across their path. The grasses tangle their feet, slowing them as Viridian runs further.

She places her hand against the flat of a large tree and mutters something under her breath. The tree opens before her and she dashes inside. On her heels, the first to make it through the wrath of nature, though not unscathed, Beau pulls up short, staring through the trunk twisted open by magic. “I think I can see Vo, you guys!” she yells.

Sometimes Beau follows her through. Sometimes she stops as the other Nein yell at her and the tree knits itself back together. Caduceus lays a hand on the bark and asks very politely if the tree can do that again for them but the tree can’t.

* * *

For another Caleb, Beau is hot on Viridian’s heels and holds her in place with well-aimed strikes. Before the rest of the Nein reach her, Viridian summons a storm of lighting, a bolt of which strikes Beau. Beau retaliates as Yasha runs in with the Magician’s Judge and slashes Viridian, a deep welling of blood pouring from her shoulder. A bolt of lightning slams into Yasha. A glowing lollipop appears next to Viridian as Jester approaches. Veth fires the Tinkertop Bolt Blaster into the fray.

Viridian summons a vine to haul her away as another bolt of lightning flares down at Beau. Both Yasha and Beau attack to prevent her from moving away and she falls to the ground unconscious.

The jungle buzzes with insects. Caleb calls from the dome, “What’s going on out there?”

They stand around her for too long as Caduceus stumbles forward. With tense looks and conjectures on the nature of the memory loss, they let her bleed out on the jungle floor.

“This isn’t how we wanted this to go,” Caduceus says as he brings her body to shuddering, gasping life again. In the suddenness of the revivification, there is a moment when she screams and scrambles away from them before starting to weep, from pain, from terror,

“Shh,” Caduceus says, holding a large hand out to her.

She shakes her head and her eyes flash side to side so rapidly Jester says they’re going to pop out of her head.

* * *

“Oh no. I’m so sorry.” Viridian’s voice.

Caleb shudders into the present reality. They are in the dome; they’re still in the dome. Everyone stares at Viridian.

Caduceus’s hand rests on her shoulder, a familiar gentle look on his face. Without saying anything, Caduceus accepts for all of them the apology she doesn’t need to give.


End file.
